Final fantasy 13: A New Dawn
by dana prince
Summary: Fang and Vanille re-awaken 6-years after the end of the game. when they go to the new oerba they find love, old friends, remember old memories, and discover a new dawn. R&R Please! enjoy
1. Chapter 1

Final fantasy XIII: The New Dawn

written by : D.P

**I do not own FF13 but i have played the game, cried at the end and loved it! Enjoy!**

Prolouge:

_We became Ragnorak and finished our original focus. The others now lived on Gran Pulse; our homeland where we were born both Fang and I. We gave them a new beginning to start a new life on our homelands instead of Cocoon. How long would we slumber for? How ever long we knew the world of Gran Pulse had become the new home for all the citizens of Cocoon who left their world when we sealed it. Now the old world stands as a crystalised staute as a reminder of what happened that very day. Would we ever wake, I wasn't sure but if we were to I wanted to see Serah and apologize to her and Sazh for everything they went through because of us. I wasn't going to have to wait long though because of the day we re-awoke in this new dawn..._

Chapter one: Reunion

I didn't feel stiff anymore; in fact I was laying on soft cool grass with the warm sun beating on my back. I sat up and looked around to see Fang laying on the ground curled up as if she was still sleeping. I crawled over in the long grass and shook her by the leg until I saw her one eye open and look up at me. As I sat back she pushed herself up and looked around. She seemed shocked to be back on Gran Pulse. She spoted a tall building where our village used to be. New smells and sounds echoed across Gran Pulse so I figured that the people of Cocoon made themselves at home here.

"How did we get here?" Fang asked getting to her feet and dusting off her arms. She pulled two blades of grass from her hair and tossed it aside then extended her hand at me. "Come on, I want to find out what's been happening while we've been gone." she said. I took her hand and got to my feet. Putting her hands on her hips Fang looked around scanning the area for a way there. The grass had lengthened in some areas but most of it was flatened by the huge beasts that walked; more like thundered, over the plains. Fang sent off north with me jogging to keep up behind her. She stopped at a small clear pond and got on her hands and knees before plunging her face into the water. When she pulled her face out of the water her hair flung water back as she sat back on her heels.

I ran to a large plant and pulled a huge leaf from it and used that as a way to drink some water. When I sat down beside her she playfully shook her head sprinkling me with water. We both laughed; it had been so long since we laughed that hard, but as we were laughing I suddenly thought of Hope. I was wondering how he has been since we sealed Cocoon. Was he still the same boy I remember or has he become a stronger, more indepenent man by now? Fang noticed I wasn't laughing and she turned my face so she could see my expression better.

"What's got your emotions all tangled up?" she asked. I shook my head and then looked up toward a long patch of grass to see a figure move away swiftly. I pointed at where it had been and had Fang look. She stood and pulled out her Bladed Spear looking around for danger. I had my bonding rod but what could that do if they had guns? Yes, I was terrified but I wasn't about to leave Fang. What could that have been? Was it a beast or a human?

"Drop your weapons!" a voice demanded. We spun around to see four men holding guns at us, the beams pointed straight at our foreheads." I said, drop your weapons!" he demanded again. He was beginning to squeeze the trigger when a new voice called out. "Hold you fire!" They stepped back as a man with white hair walked pass them. Something felt oddly familiar as I looked at him, as if I knew him. He stopped in front of his men, looked down at us and that's when I knew it was Hope.

"Hope, is that you?" I asked. He smiled and walked down toward me. He did seem different; more of a man rather than a boy. He still had a gentle look in his eye though. We must have been gone for a short time though; he didn't look a day over twenty. Althought now he had a small beard sitting just on the tip of his chin. His hair was the same and he must have been working out; he was buff.

"Been six years, Vanille. Gran Pulse has become our new home, without the Sanctum. All L'cie turned back to humans when you both sealed Cocoon and all crysatlized L'cie turned back as well." he explained. Fang and I put away our weapons as Hope had his men stand down. They turned their backs toward us to watch for any monsters. "As you both can see I command them because i joined the Gaurdian Corp soon after we began rebuilding the old Obera into a new Obera."

"So it's bigger and more of a city now, right?" Fang asked crossing her arms. Hope nodded.

"We should get you back to the city so you can see it for yourselves and see the others." He turned and motioned to one of his men. "Get the chocobos!" he cried. The men ran forward and within a few minutes came back with six chocobos. Hope helped me onto the one Fang mounted and he got on his own as did his men. "To the City!" and we raced off. Crossing the plains I could see that they were untouched by humanity as it was left to the wildlife. We soon came to the enterance of the cavern where usually chocobos never went but these did. They raced in and through the caverns trails, over huge gaps and soon out to the other side near where we fought the Fal'cie in his own home.

"Not much further now, keep moving!" Hope commanded. I had never seen him so confident or strong minded but he was now. Was he the same Hope or had his heart changed too? We followed his chocobo into the Fal'cie home and up to the annex then down yet another lift to the pathway to the New Obera. We came up to it slowly seeing huge buildings and buzzing market places filled to the edges with goods like spices, birds for pets, fruits, vegetables, and even a butcher. Rugs flapped in the wind and pots and pans clancked together. Jewlery hung down and sparkled in the sunlight as they chocobos passed through the crowd to an area filled with apartments.

The children played as there mothers chatted to the next door neighbor and their fathers labored in fixing or building things. It looked almost like our village but it was never this big. We soon came to a halt outside a huge two floor building with a huge white sign that read: Gaurdian Corp. Hope got off his chocobo and helped Fang and I get down from ours then led us inside. A woman walked up and I knew exactly who she was; it was Lighting. She had grown her hair longer and she smiled a bit more.

"Lighting I think you know these ladies; they're out of the crystalized Cocoon." Lighting looked around him and when she saw us she laughed. She turned back to Hope and told him the Marshall wanted him. Hope bid us farewell and left into the back.

"Lighting, how have you been?" I asked. She walked toward the door and motioned for us to follow and we did. She walked down pass a chocobo that sat along side his rider, eating. Lighting led us to an apartment and stopped.

"Hold on one second." she turned to the building and yelled for Serah. The window opened and Serah's head poked out. She waved and called Snow over. Snow leaned out the window and his jaw nearly fell off from seeing Fang and me.

"Serah and Snow are married already." Lighting indecated. I looked up and congratulated them on their marriage as Fang's eye was caught by a buff man with jet black hair. He was buffer than Hope was and he wore a sleeve less shirt displaying some battle scars he must have earned fighting monsters out on the plains. Fang seemed hypnotized by him and her eyes never left him until he vanished around the corner. Never had I seen her like that before.

"So you two came back, huh?" Snow asked. I had to nudge Fang to get her attention. She shook her head and replied without even knowing the question. I think she had been shot by the arrow of love at the moment she saw that man. Fang's mind seemed to wonder back to him every second if no one was trying to talk with her.

Serah and Snow had a two year old son named Koda and they were hoping to have a second. Serah hoped it would be a girl but she didn't care if she had another son. Then I heard another familiar voice. I turned around to see Sazh and his son Dajh. Dajh was at least 13 years old and his was looking just like Sazh now. The little chocobo Sazh bought Dajh was now standing six feet tall and he was still as friendly as he walked over to greet me and Fang, who was still in her 'love trance'.

"Haven't seen you for six years and you both never aged while crystalized." Sazh said with a laugh jumping up his throat. He was certainly getting older as age lines stretched across his brow and on both sides of his mouth. Spots of greying hairs poked out of his black afro unlike his son who looked like a younger version of his father. Dajh was five foot even with a tall afro like Sazh and he was now into the yo-yo as he spun it around doing tricks.

"Dajh have you come up with a name for him?" I asked pointing at his chocobo. Dajh looked up and continued swinging around his yo-yo as he replied with a wide smile.

"Yeah his name is Hero. I decided to call him that after who guys saved everyone from ever having to be chosen by the Fal'cie." he said. His voice had begun deepen because he was changing from a boy to a man. Fang walked away to a railing near a passing river and leaned against the bars. I only wondered what she was thinking about...

Fang's P.O.V~

Who was he? Just the thought of him sent chills down my spine. I had never felt this way before and it made my stomach sicken. He looked as strong as an oxen and those scars; in old Obera they would concidered a sign of strenght and power. In the old Obera every woman would beg for him to marry them in order to pass his genes to their children. I used to think that was silly talk. My father was no warrior but my mother still married him. Then just before I was born he died of an illness. I remember there was one guy who I had liked but not loved...

_I was walking home one day, in the middle of the summer season with some freshly baked bread sitting in a basket. My mother was waiting for me to get home to finish dinner for me, four of my cousins, Vanille and herself. Vanille lived with me since her parents died during a gathering harvest. A beast from the plains ran through and killed them before destroying most of the crops that year. It was that year we didn't eat anything from those fields because they had stained the ground with blood. We relocated our crops the following year but poor Vanille she had lost her parents to that beast. My mother took her in because she and Vanille's mother had been friends since they were children._

_The crowd of girls stood around one guy, Mashol. His father had once been the village champion and so had his grandfather, great-grandfather and so on. He had just become the new village champion recently and the woman flocked on him like flies to rotten food on a hot day. He pushed his way through the crowd of girls and ran over to me._

_"That looks kinda heavy you need some help?" he asked. I turned to him and shook my head. I noticed the girls behind him were glaring at me and had their arms crossed. The look of jealousy was printed clearly in their eyes._

_"Thanks; but no thanks, Mashol I got this." and I left. The girls crowded around him again saying "You shouldn't talk to such a Low breed like her!" and things like "Weak blooded" or "Chicken blooded". Every day I went home with my head down saddened by their teasings and taunts. Mother uesd to try and get me to talk about it but I usually just lay in bed staring up at the bed above me. Vanille was the only one who could brighten my day. She used to come in and pull me to my feet and get me outside to play a game of catch or we'd go fishing. I used my Grandfather's old spear while Vanille used the old fashion fishing pole. She always caught more than me but mine was harder._

_Those were the days...._

"Hey you're a new face; you new here?" said a strong male voice. I looked to my left to see...him standing there. I could practially guess every detail of him. He was six foot or more with jet black hair and a small scar on his cheek bone close to his nose. He had a prince's smile along with golden brown eyes and a finely hooked nose. He had no facial hair on his face but he had thick eyebrows. His arms displayed at least twelve scars or more each. His right hand was wrapped in bandages with a slight blood stain showing through. The V shape on his shirt revealed a hard chest with a few more scars and he was carrying a katana sword on his right hip.

"Yes, I just got here with a friend of mine." I said, pointing to Vanille. He sat on a crate and smiled at me making me want to jump over the railings into the water. I stared down into the water at my reflection until I heard him talk again.

"So, um, what's your name?" I looked up and replied as a lump was forming in my throat.

"Obera Yun Fang." When he heard my name I could tell he was a bit shocked. No one here was called by that unless you were talking about me or Vanille. He scratched the back of his head and tried not to laugh but I knew in some way he wanted to.

"Obera Yun Fang? Wasn't Yun the name of a clan?" I shook my head. "Wow so that means...you're not from this time period are you?"

"Nope, I was born centuries ago here in the Old Obera village on Gran Pulse. My friend is Obera Dia Vanille and yes she was born here centuries ago too." I explained. I could feel that if he was able to his jaw would have dropped to the ground or possible fallen off.

"That's nice. So what was the old Obera like?" he asked. I laughed and walked away from the railing and stretched.

"This city was never this big; in fact it was much smaller. People shared everything from food, to clothing, beds and work. There was no such thing as buying or owning something unless of course marriage. No one shared their husband or wife." I began making him laugh. As I continued I told him about how I was raised with Vanille and how I was chosen by the Fal'cie to become Ragnorak and that it was me who cracked the shell of Cocoon. He was completely soaking up the story and when I finished all he could say was "Wow..."

"So then you and your friend Vanille became Ragnorok together and sealed up Cocoon like it is now?" he asked getting off the crate and walking to thr corner where you could see the Crystalized Cocoon from. He turned back to me and smiled. "That's amazing!" i nearly jumped backward into the water below. He found it amazing? But I hurt so may people! How could that be amazing?

"So you lost your brand when you came back?" he asked. I had never even looked at my right shoulder yet. I quickly looked at it and to my surprise it was gone; my twisted and frozen brand was gone. He walked over and leaned to his right to look at my other shoulder where I had the tattoo at. "Doesn't look like you have one any more." I was glad I had no brand which meant that Vanille had lost hers too and so had the others.

"I never caught you name." I said looking up at him as he stood straight. He extended a hand and I took it. Instead of a handshake he turned it and kiss the back of my hand then looked at me. My cheeks were beginning to flush.

"Name's Kurt. It was nice meeting you Fang but I have to be going." he said I couldn't trust my tongue to speak so I simply nodded while trying to hide my flushed cheeks. As he walked away a still feel the kiss he left on the back of my hand. I held my hand to my heart as he walked away vanishing into a crowd of men returning from work...

Vanille's P.O.V~

I had just watch Fang get her hand kissed by a nice looking guy and she seemed totally in a trance facing the direction in which he left. I skipped over and hit her in her arm to get her attention. She looked at me and rubbed her arm.

"What was that for?" she asked. I couldn't help but give her a teasing smile as she gave me a puzzled look.

"You like him, don't you?" I teased. Her face became bright red as she tried to lie and say she didn't. She was just shy to admit it but I knew she was. Her face told the entire story. She walked away with her arms crossed until she bumped into Hope; literally. He had a key in his hand when he saw how red Fang's face was.

"Here this will be yours and Fang's home for now. It's 129 right there." he handed me the key and pointed to the apartment beside him. It was a dull brown with medium sized windows and a reasonable door. The stairs were made of iron and the railings of copper held down by dried concrete. I thanked him and handed Fang the key. She went right into the apartment and left me out there to talk to Hope. We walked down to the riverside bridge and sat on the ledge with our bare feet dangling off the edge.

"Hope, you changed." I said kicking the water's surface with my toes. He looked up at me and searched my face before answering.

"Not really, I only became stronger minded not cold hearted." he placed his hand on mine. "Since you and Fang sealed Cocoon I never stopped thinking about you. I was hoping that someday you'd return from that crystalized state and I'd see you again." his touch made me feel like crying. I pulled my hand away trying to hide my feelings I had for him. He gently took my hand into both of his and held it against his chest. His heart was racing as if he had been running a mile or more.

"You see Vanille, this is what happens to my heart when you're around," he slid closer to me. "And I would give anything to be with you." He cupped my cheek with his hand and leaned forward until our lips met in a gentle kiss. He conintued holding my hand as I wrapped my free arm around the back of his neck to hold the kiss longer. We breathed through our noses taking in each others' scent. Hope smelled a bit sweaty but I didn't want this kiss to end. The only problem was that I was still only seventeen like the day I was first crystalized and Hope; he was in his twenties now. Was there a law that said two lovers cannot love because of age? Even if there was I wouldn't care what the laws say; I follow my heart.

When we both needed air, we backed away from one another and caught our breaths. Our eyes remained locked as well as we were. Hope hugged me around the waist as my arms were wrapped around the back of his neck. I remembered what Hope had said to me one time when we were on Gran Pulse. "Never stop smiling, because when you smile it makes me smile." My cheeks suddenly became bright red at the thought of that day. Hope suddenly put his head next to mine, resting his chin on my shoulder.

"Vanille thanks for helping me through with the death of my mother and helping me try to talk to Snow." he whispered in my ear. I flicked a annoying buzzing bug away as I replied also in a whisper.

"Can we not think of the past Hope? Some of it makes me...well, sad." he sat back and kissed me again. I leaned forward and rested my head on his chest listening to the sounds of his breathing and to his heart beat. The gentle rhythm soon put me to sleep in his arms on this warm Sprng night...

Chaper two: Love or lust?

When I woke the next morning, I was in bed and I could smell the scent of fresh bread being toasted and having honey smothered over it along with freshly brewed wild tea. The smell reminded me of home back in the old Obera when Fang's mother used to make the same breakfast. The bread was always fresh, the tea brewing in the tea pot made of metal, and the smell of honey on warm bread was inviting. Fang, her four cousins and I would race to the table to get the first slice and drink some fresh hot wild tea to wake our senses to a new morning and another day.

I whipped the covers rom my legs and opened the sliding screen door. Fang was smothering the last piece of bread and pouring two cups of hot tea when I came out yawning and rubbing my eyes. She looked over at me and smiled.

"Hope had to bring ou home last night, Vanille. He said you fell asleep in his arms." she turned and handed me a plate with two slices of honey smothered bread and a cup of tea. I sat at the table and took a bite of the soft bread, the honey was sticky against my lips. With a sip of tea I washed the sticky honey down my throat while waking myself up more. Fang sat down with her plate and tea also with a small box which she handed to me.

"Hope left that for you this morning. Sad he forgot to give it to you last night." she took a sip of her tea and wiped her mouth with a napkin. "Wouldn't have mattered anyway you fell asleep in his arms." she teased. I slid the box aside and took another bite of the bread.

"You're not gonna open it?" she asked.

"I'll open it later." Fang gave me a mocking smile. I knew what she was doing; she was trying to get me to open it. She usually did that when ever I got a gift or something.

"But I want to see what's in it too." she said putting her finger on it and dragging it toward her. I snatched it back and put it on the chair beside me. She rolled her eyes and took a bite of her own bread. "I open it after breakfast." I said before taking the last bite and washing it down with the last bit of tea in my cup. I stood and put my dishes in the sink and turned to find Fang trying to reach over the table to get the small box. I snatched it up and put my hands on my hips.

"What, you're finished, right?" she asked with an 'I'm innocent' voice and look in her eyes. She took a bite of her bread and waited for me to rip off the wrapping paper to see what's inside. With my finger nail I ripped open a straight line down the one side and slid the box out of the paper. I set the paper down and took the lid off the box to find a beautiful cyrstal carved dagger necklace. It was hand carved and the roping around it was no thicker than my little finger. Fang was examining it from her end of the table as the sunlight coming through the window made it shine red and purple.

"Very pretty, Vanille. Ain't you gonna wear it?" she asked as I put in back in the box. I loved the gift but I felt that I shouldn't accept something like that. Was I selfish or did I feel too undeserving of such a gift? I wasn't sure and I didn't think Fang had the answer either. I walked into the bed room area and slid it under my bed hoping to forget about it but I knew Hope would ask me about it. What would I tell him? That I didn't want his gift? What would he think if i gave it back to him?

"You know it'll break his little heart to see you got the gift but aren't wearing it." Fang said from the sink. She had finished her breakfast and was washing the dishes. Her hands were submerged in the soap that was bubbling up almost to the sink edge. She finished, set thewet plates downward on an open towel and dried her own hands before turning to me. "He'll probably be expecting you to wearin; it when you see him sometime today." she looked out the window and walked to the door. She grabbed a secondary key off the hook near the door and tossed it to me.

"I'm leaving right now and Hope had a second key made for you." she opened the door and left leaving me alone in our apartment. Looking down at that key made me think of our journey together as L'cie. All our struggles, our friendships, even our hate was expressed throughout that journey. Sazh hated me for being the reason his son was turned into a Sanctum L'cie and Hope hated snow for allowing his mother to die. Then I thought of what we did together in the end; Fang and I sealed Cocoon giving everyone a new start to a new life. Who could hate me for that? No one could. Hope loved me, Sazh got his son back, Snow and Serah are married, Lighting is retired and Fang was finding love.

I looked back at my bed where I had slid the necklace and thought about what Fang said. _"He'll probably be expecting to see you wearin' it" _She was right he would be expecting me to wear it. I mean, it is pretty and he got it just for me. I walked over and reached under the bed, grabbed the box and sat on the bed. I opened the box and took out the necklace dangling it from my hand allowing what little light to hit it. the small light made it shine red and purple against the wall dancing on the paint like ballroom dancers. I untied the roping and put it around my neck then tied it on. The crystal hung just below my collar bone pointing downward.

That was when I decided to see him and thank him for the necklace. He would probably be happy that I was wearing his gift. I hope Fang was finding her love too...

Fang's P.O.V~

I was standing in the same place where I met Kurt at and where he kissed my hand. At that point I found myself thinking about him and almost thinking about him in the sense of love. I thought he was handsome yes but what if he had a girlfriend or worse; a wife? He seemed single from what I knew but men lie as well women do. The sun was beating down on my head when I heard a voice behind me.

"Fancy meeting you here." I knew that voice; it was Kurt. I turned my head to peer over my shoulder and saw him with a red shirt with sleeves reaching to his elbows. He walked over and leaned against the railing next to me. The water below slowly flowed by without a single sound coming from the slow current. Kurt seemed to have somthing on his mind when i looked over at him. His eyes were very tense as well as his stance. He gripped he railing as if it was for dear life. To get him out of his train of thought I nudged him in the arm.

"You got something on your mind?" I asked. He looked down at me and smiled.

"Well, yes actually and I was just thinking of how to put it." He replied turning toward me. He took my hand and looked into my eyes. I could feel the blood heat up in my face as he sighed asnd spoke softly. "Would you be my beloved girlfriend, Obera Yun Fang?" I was in shock when he asked me that. never had I thought he would ask me to be his beloved girlfriend. My eyes swelled with tears of joy as I pulled my hand from his and turned to the side. He waited very patiently for my reply as I tried to cool off my reddening face.

"Yes, Kurt I would love to be your beloved." I said before turning toward him. He saw a tear stream down my cheek as he reached over and wiped it away with the pad of his thumb. He put his hands on both of my shoulders and pulled me closer. I put my hands on his chest feeling how tight the muscles were. He leaned down and our lips met in a gentle loving kiss. He held me tightly as if hoping to never let me go. For once I felt truly happy and even safe in his embrace. When we parted I cupped his cheeks in my hands and kissed him again.

"Fang, I wanted to tell you something you'll need to know. I'm solider in the Gaurdian Corp and I go on missions a lot." his voice trailed off as he looked into the distance. "If you ever receive a red envelope then that means...I didn't make it." he hugged me tighter as he said those last four words. He wanted me to know this so if it did occur I would be 'ready' for it or know how to handle it; I hope.

"Let's not think about that then, Kurt. Let's think of us first then the life and death struggle of Gran Pulse, okay?" he nodded and kissed me again. Each time we kissed I felt like my lips would take flight toward the heavens singing of joy and love. He was probably feeling the same way as we stood there locked in one anothers' embrace...

Vanille's P.O.V~

I was hiding behind a stack of crates watching Fang actually get her first kiss from Kurt. They looked rightfully for each other as did Hope and I; or so Lighting said when I was talking to her on the way here. She said that since we sealed Cocoon he couldn't stop thinking about me or how I helped him through such a painful time. I stood by him and helped give him strength when he needed it most. Hope had only grown up and gotten stronger but he never really changed otherwise. Hope was still the loving, intelligent boy I remembered. Maybe we too were meant to be together like Fang and Kurt.

"What are you hiding from?" said a familiar voice from my right. I looked to see Dajh crouched there with Hero crouched beside him cleaning his wing. I put my index finger over my lips and said for him to keep quiet or they'll know we're there. He nodded and had Hero stay quite to keep from being spotted. Fang and Kurt left going deeper into the city as I smiled and sat down with Dajh.

"Now then, what are you doing out here, Dajh? Does your father know your out here?" I asked. Hero reached over with his long neck and nuzzled me with his large yellow beak. Dajh stood pulled out his yo-yo and did a trick as he replied.

"Yeah, he knows and I've been out here exploring the city but don't worry I know how to get home and if I forget the way I have Hero." he said. "I better get going though so I'll see you around!" and he left followed by the once small chocobo chick. I smiled and left toward the Gaurdian Corps building hoping to find Hope there. When I walked up to the clear glass doors with golden trim, out came Hope. He saw the necklace around my neck and smiled.

"I see you're wearing the necklace I handmade for you." he said. He took me into a warm loving embrace and kissed my brow. "Come on I know a nice little place we can go to be alone for a while and no I'm not leading you to that." he added seeing the expression of confusion on my face. I nodded and we left toward the bridge...

Fang's P.O.V~

I sat on Kurt's sofa looking around seeing pictures of his family and some odd statues. His apartment was very clean and well taken care of. Most men back in the old Obera didn't even know how to make a bed let alone keep an apartment clean. The women did most of the work but Kurt was truly different. He poured two glasses of white wine; an old Obera favorite, and handed me one then sat down beside me. We toasted and each took a sip then set the glasses on his coffee table made of glass with bronze legs and gold trimmings around the edges of the glass. He then turned to me and slid closer to put a muscular arm around me. He leaned down and our lips met and remained locked for several minutes. I was surprised I didn't need air for three minutes. His kisses led down to my neck then back up to my jawline and then to my lips again.

I could suddenly feel the lust rise from deep within me screaming to be let free like a caged bird. Our kisses intenseified as his hand glided it's way up my thigh. His hand made it to my hips as I felt his fingers curl around the under shorts I was wearing. That was when I couldn't contain this lustful feeling. I tried to undress him as fast as he was trying to undress me. Our face turned red as we soon were together without a stripof clothing covering our bodies...

_1 hour and 45 minutes later..._

We ended up in his bed, covers hiding our nude bodies as I cuddled close to him. I felt so tired from that 'adult fun' and I was ready to fall asleep when a knock hit his front door. He got up and quickly put on a pair of pants then answered the door. He was talking to someone before he closed the door and walked over to me still in his bed. He got fully dressed as I sat up and asked where he was going.

"There's been a huge beast trying to destroy the Plains and coulf be on it's way here," he kissed me as he grabbed his sword. He then dashed out the door and I was alone in his apartment still naked under his covers, holding it to my chest. I decided to get dressed and leave thinking about what I had just done. I just had sex with a men I wasn't even married to. We just began dating and already we had done that. Was I wrong to feel like that, I mean this isn't the old Obera I know. In the old Obera society I'd be shamed to have done that but this city was a new Obera and probably had new laws. I left his place locking the door behind me...

_**This is only the beginning people, I have more to this story than ever! R&R please. hoped you enjoyed it!**_


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter three: Baby in the womb

It's been about a week now and Fang's sent a letter to Kurt out in the field. She recently was getting pains in her stomach and I had noticed her sudden increase in hunger. Why was she beginning to act strange? I didn't have to wait long for an answer.

It was around noon as Fang and I returned from the market place with fresh bread, and meats in hand. As we came up to our apartment we spotted something perched on the railing of our porch. It was a huge brown and black eagle with something in his talons. Fang handed me the bread she was holding and slowly walked up to it. The eagle watched her walk close before he flew off dropping the thing he was holding. It fell to the ground before Fang's feet as she carefully picked it up and examined it. From what I could see it was a talon from a large bird but the eagle had all his talons so where did that one come from?

Suddenly Fang wavered and then collapsed with her hand to her stomach. When she fell she almost curled up as I ran up the stairs to her side. I tried calling to her but she wouldn't respond. I was beginning to panic when a woman walked halfway up the stairs and asked me what's wrong. Crying for my friend I did my best to relay to her the events leading to her collapse. The woman ran to a neighboring apartment and knocked on the door. A man with large glasses and no hair on his head stepped out. As he listened to the woman his stroked his beard of grey and black hair. He looked up and at me as I tried again to get Fang to respond but still she remained motionless. I firmly pressed my index and middle fingers to the artery in her neck to see if I could get a pulse.

There it was quickened as the man ran over with a small black bag. He ran up the stairs two steps at a time and then to Fang's other side. He now checked her pulse and then checked if she was breathing. My face was soaked in tears in fear of loosing Fang. That was when he pulled a strange and unfamiliar plant from his bag and then lit a match. He held the plant to the match until the plant began to smoke then he held it by her nose. Soon enough her eyes fluttered open and she looked around. I couldn't help myself as I leaned down and gave her a hug even if she was still on the ground. The bald man lightly touched my shoulder and asked Fang and me if there has been any changes to her diet or anything else.

"I've been hungrier than usual, why?" the man stroked his beard and fixed his glasses for they were sliding down his round nose. Fang sat up and asked him what he was thinking about.

"Have you had any sexual contact lately?" she nodded. "Then there is a chance that you are pregnant and that caused you to collapse. I've seen it several times." Fang's eyes nearly popped out of her head when she heard she might be pregnant. The only man she's been with was Kurt and he was miles away right now.

"A-are you sure?" she asked sounding like she was ready to collapse again. I sat just behind her to keep her from falling again. The doctor nodded and said he was specialized in that but his daughter was and he could have her take a look at Fang. Fang looked back at me then took in a deep breath. When she nodded the doctor clapped his hands together and said his daughter would be over tomorrow. How could he know if she was even free then? I really didn't care I was jus happy that Fang was okay but the thought of having a baby running around made me smile. To think a baby girl that looks like Fang; a mini Fang! Or even a son that looked like a mini version of Kurt!

When the doctor and woman left I helped fang to her feet and then inside where she could rest. I turned to go back out and get the bread and meats but there in the doorway was Hope. The bread and meat was in his arms, saving me the trip back to get them. He handed them to me as Fang walked into the back bedroom saying she was going to take a nap. I placed the food on the table and turned back to Hope.

"Why was the doctor over here and why was Fang on the ground?" he asked. Apparently he saw the small event occur and was wondering; almost worried about Fang. I jumped at him and wrapped my arms around his neck while giving him a nice firm kiss. When I retreated he smiled and I could still tell he wanted to know what was wrong with Fang.

"She collapsed out there and the doctor thinks she might be pregnant." Hope's eyes widen then narrowed as he looked from me to the closed bedroom door.

"By Kurt?" he asked looking back at me. I nodded slowly then rested my head against his chest listening to his heart beat. I could hear him breath too as I stood there in his embrace. He hadn't gone to the mission like Kurt had to because Hope had to command the corps here to keep New Obera safe.

He was a great deal around New Oerba, known as the youngest commander in Guardian Corps history and for that he was to command the fleets at home. He had become one of the top fighters thanks to our journey to 'save' Cocoon but he no longer fought with a boom-a-rang like he used to. Now he had a gun-sword like what Light used to have. He grew up and got stronger but I loved that he was still the kind hearted boy he used to be.

"If she is Kurt's gonna be happy." he said. I nodded with my head still against his chest. At that moment I started thinking about how Hope would act if I bore him a child. He'd probably be excited and tell everyone while flipping around and dancing in the pouring rain. If Kurt could I bet he'd dance around to the news that Fang is carrying his child.

I looked up at Hope and then pulled from his embrace, remembering I had the meats and bread to put away. I snatched them from the table and walked over to the fridge and put the away. Hope looked at the clock and waited for me to turn back to him before he said he had to leave. I walked around the table and gave him a kiss before he had to leave. He left through the door closing it behind him.

"Vanille," Fang called from the room. I walked in and saw her sitting on the edge of the bed. I sat beside her as she placed her hand over her belly and sighed.

"If and when I have my first child Vanille, I wanted you to be not just her godmother but her aunt. Do you accept?" I clapped my hands together and smiled while replying.

"Yes; yes of course! I'd love to help you with the baby too." Fang smile was of relief as she laid back still holding her stomach. I was so happy that she decided to make me not just the godmother but the baby's aunt even if we weren't blood related. I laid back next to her and asked her what she'd name her child. Fang turned her head to look at me and smiled.

"Talon," I sat up on my elbows and looked down at her. "For the talon the eagle dropped. I don't know maybe it was a sign or something." I stood and walked out as Fang pulled her legs up on to the bed and pulled the covers up under her arms. Within minutes she fell asleep and I was left alone in the living room. Recently I had been reading a novel that Hope gave me.

Every day I'd read a few chapters then it would put me to sleep right here on the sofa. I picked up the red cover novel and opened to my last page which I marked with a laminated piece of paper with a drawing of a running chocobo on it. It was given to me by Dajh as a gift and I've been using it ever since.

With each page I fell into a new world of fantasy until my eye lids grew heavy and I soon had to place the bookmark in the book and set it down to take a nap of my own. Using a cushion I soon drifted into a world of dreams…

Fang's P.O.V~

A knock hit the door as I sat up and whipped the sheets from my legs. I walked to the front door and opened it to find our small mail boy. He stood no taller than four feet three inches and he had wavy blonde hair with small narrow blue eyes poking out from under his bangs. He moved some of his bangs from his eyes and handed me a letter with Kurt's handwriting on the envelope. I took it and tossed him a tip for bringing me the letter then closed the door and sat at the table.

I ripped it open and read the writing. Vanille turned on to her side and mumbled something under her breath in her sleep. I wondered what she was dreaming of. I set the letter down on the table and leaned back in the chair. Reading the words written by Kurt made me feel like I was back in his arms. The feeling of his embrace made me wish he was here to hear the possible news of our child.

I decided to wait until I knew if it was true; if I was pregnant with a baby fathered by him. I began to wonder how he would react to such news. What would he write back or say when he returned? Would he be happy to be a father or would he say it was too soon? In some way I was scared but in another I felt overjoyed to find I might be carrying his child.

Then I heard Vanille begin to wake as I hid the letter away. She sat up and rubbed her eyes then stood and stretched. I walked into the back and hid his letter in the casing of my pillow then walked back out, almost bumming into Vanille. She smiled and took my hand.

"Hungry, Fang?" she said. I slowly nodded because my hunger was begging for food. She ran to the fridge and grabbed the smallest meat package and set it on the counter. I asked if I could help but she just led me to the sofa and said she would do it for me.

She chopped it into smaller pieces and warmed a pan with olive oil coating the bottom. She slid the meat off the cutting board into the pan and then grabbed a box of white rice from the cabinet. She filled a pot with water and then poured a good amount of rice into it. She placed that on the stove top and then continued with the meat while keeping an eye on the rice.

"Vanille I'll be outside if you need me." I said walking to the door. I just wanted air; fresh air. I heard her reply as I closed the door behind me and walked down the stairs. The sun was high in the sky without a cloud to disturb its light. The birds chirped and their fellow feathered friends flew overhead.

A new raven bird flew around overhead screeching and flapping his wings slowly. In the old Obera a raven was a sign of a loved one's soon death. I wondered why he was near Vanille and my apartment. I wasn't sure but it made me almost worry. I stared up at the raven until I heard Vanille call me from the front door.

Was that raven a sign or was I imagining it…?

Vanille's P.O.V~

I just called Fang back in but something seemed to be almost bothering her. Maybe it was that strange raven bird. She walked in just as I was finishing the meat and pouring some meat with its gravy over the rice. She sat down and put a hand to her stomach. I set down her plate and noticed her stomach was indeed swelling outward. It was only an inch or two but it wasn't that noticeable from under her sari. I made myself a plate and sat across from her as she seemed almost in a daze.

"Fang, is there something wrong?" I said knocking on the table by her. Her head snapped up and she shook her head. In her eyes I could see something bothering her but I wasn't going to push for an answer. We ate in silence and when we finished I cleaned up the dishes and washed them while she went to lay down for a bit. Within minutes she fell asleep and all I could hear was her turn over every ten minutes making the bed creek.

I walked to the door and opened it just as Lighting was about to knock. She put her hand down and smiled then asked to come in. I led her to the sofa and sat down. She sat down and crossed her left leg over her right. I sat down and peered over into the back room to check on Fang then looked back to Lighting. She reached into her pocket and pulled out a note with Hope's hand writing on the folded piece of paper. She handed it to me and gave me a wink then left.

I was turning the piece of paper in my hands over and over again wanting to open it but was held back by something. I looked at my name written on the top and traced his witting with my index finger. It was then I opened it and read the written text. It read:

_Vanille~_

_I wish to see you tonight by where we found our love by the bridge. I will say no more within this note until we meet tonight._

I refolded the note and ducked it into my book sitting on the table. I walked into the back room where Fang was sleeping and wrote a note to her saying I was going out for a while. When I left out the front door the sun was already half way behind the mountains in the distance. The building shadows began to stretch over the neighboring small apartments. The street light clicked on one by one lighting the path I was walking to get to the bridge.

When I rounded the last corner I saw Hope standing there leaning on the edge on his forearms. At that moment I remembered him as the fourteen year old boy. When we sat in Gran Pulse we made that promise and when he told me to 'Never stop smiling, because when I smiled it made him smile'. Then I fell back into reality seeing the older Hope standing there waiting for me. The shadows made his hair stand out because it was so light.

I walked over silently, never clicking my boots or speaking a word until I came up behind him. With a slight tap on the shoulder he turned to me and smiled. I wrapped my arms around his neck and was pulled into his embrace around my waist. We stood there staring into each others' eyes with our torso fronts touching, our body heat lingering on one another.

"It's always lovely to see you, Vanille." He said leaning down to kiss me. Our lips met in a loving kiss until the urge to breath had us back away. He stepped back from me and reached a hand into his pocket.

"Close your eyes," I shut my eyes and heard movement but I had no idea what was going on. Then his voice spoke to me again. "Open them now." When I opened my eyes he was on his knee holding a small red velvet box up at me. He pushed a small button on it and it flipped open to reveal a diamond ring. I covered my mouth as tears of joy ran from my eyes.

"Obera Dia Vanille, will you please give me your hand in marriage?" he asked. I took the diamond ring and slid it onto my left ring finger and then looked down at Hope.

"Yes, of course I'll marry you!" he stood and I jumped into his arms. Never had I thought he would ask me to marry him but I wasn't complaining; I loved him. He set my back on the ground and kissed my brow.

"You weren't expecting that were you?"

"No, but I love you, Hope so I'm happy about this; very happy and excited." I kissed him and then pulled away saying I was tired. We kissed good-bye and left. When I opened the door to the apartment Fang was sitting on the sofa. In her hand she had a half eaten apple. I closed the door behind me and sat beside her. She looked down at my hand and noticed the ring gleaming on my finger.

"You have a new ring?" she asked through a mouthful of apple.

"Hope and I are now engaged, Fang. He proposed to me." Fang swallowed her mouthful and smiled. She took my hand and examined the ring then looked up at me.

"You two are good together; almost like you two were meant to meet. In fact all of us were meant to meet to complete that focus." She tossed the apple core across the room into a trashcan. She looked up at the clock and told me I should get some sleep since it was already about 9:30 p.m. I walked into the back and decided to lay in the bed across from Fang's so I could keep a better eye on her just in case.

My eye lids soon grew heavy and soon enough I fell fast asleep…

Fang's P.O.V~

I stayed up for another three hours before I felt it was time for me to sleep. I noticed Vanille wasn't in her usual top bunk above me but instead she laid across from me on the other bed. She was lying on her side facing the wall curled up in a semi-tight ball. I got into my bed and turned down the light till the room was completely dark and the only lighting was the moon light dancing through the window on to Vanille's young face.

I laid back and put my hands behind my head and stared out the window to the star lit night. The small stars reminded me of the very day my mother died and Vanille, my four cousins and I were sent to the orphanage. Vanille refused to talk for weeks while my cousins distanced themselves from me. I stayed by Vanille's side even through her worst days at the orphanage…

"_Vanille!" I called out hoping to see her pop from around a corner. She ran off again into the old place. The paint on the walls was peeling and the floors creaked under your feet as you walked. Some windows were cracked and other shattered but worst of all was the smell. It smelt like old wet wood on a hot summer day._

_I rounded a corner near a room with the door cracked open. I could hear two men inside and their shadows hovered over something that sounded like a whimpering child. I crept closer and put my ear near the opening to hear them talking._

"_Isn't she a pretty Dia clan member? Young and almost fragile." One said. The whimpering almost sounded like a scream as it seemed he was hurting her. I heard someone move on a bed and a third voice spoke._

"_Well who's next? She's still ready." I turned my head to look through the opening and sat a person tied to the bed. When she turned her head I saw who exactly it was. It was Vanille tied down on the bed by the three teenage boys. One walked over and turned her head to face him and tore the tape off her mouth. Once it was off she screamed out my name._

_That was when he slapped her and covered her mouth violently with his hand. I stepped away from the door and grabbed a nearby broom stick and pulled off the straw. I kicked in the door and scared the boys to back away from Vanille. One grabbed his own pole and swung at me but thanks to hours of training alone and against my oldest cousin, I blocked it and flung it back at him. It connected to his manhood making him drop to the floor in pain. And the others shrunk in fear in the corner._

_I lunged and pinned them to the wall with the broom stick at their throats. They struggled trying to get free but I wasn't budging. That was until our head of the orphanage walked in and saw the events. She told me to back away from them and she then led the boys to her office. I turned to Vanille who was half dressed and her face was red with a few bruises from their abuse._

_I quickly untied her as she lunged up and hid her face in my shoulder. Her sobs grew heavy as she had just endured their rape. I didn't know what to say so I just sat there holding her until she pulled away. She didn't speak for another few weeks because of such an ordeal, but I was there when she woke from horrible nightmares about it…_

It's been so long from that but I wonder if she ever had those nightmares anymore. I looked over to her and saw she was sleeping soundly but it wasn't always that way. Sometimes her nightmares returned only to haunt her for a night. I turned over onto my side toward the wall and closed my eyes. When I began to drift into sleep I heard Vanille shoot up and scream. I jumped out of bed and sat by her side taking her into my arms.

She was crying heavily and her body was shivering violently as I tried to clam her down. She was screaming in my right ear causing it to block out sound after a while. Soon her sobs began to silence and she was calm again. Through the whole thing her eyes never opened. She was still deep in sleep through this nightmare. She laid back down and seemed to drift into a nicer dream as I went back to my bed. She remained that way for the rest of the night until the next morning…

Vanille's P.O.V~

During the night I had another one of those nightmares of what happened to me in the orphanage. I felt Fang embrace me but my eyes remained shut and my body was moving on its own free will. I woke the next morning to find she was not in her bed but I heard a second voice out by the front door. I whipped the sheets from my legs and rolled out of bed. I slid the screen door open and saw Fang was talking to a brown haired female doctor.

I waited as the doctor walked in and Fang led her to the bedroom where she could examine Fang. Fang laid down and removed the top part of her sari to reveal her stomach. The doctor sat down and gently touched the main part of her stomach.

"The stomach seems to be hardening like it usually would for a pregnancy." She reached into her bag and pulled a small screen that was attached to a small scanning piece. "Now this will allow me to see inside your stomach to make sure if you are." She put some kind of bluish gel on her stomach and placed the scanner piece on over the gel. The screen showed everything within Fang's stomach and uterus. She moved the scanner about till she found a small thing within her uterus.

"Well I'll be; congratulations, you have a baby." Fang sat up on her elbows and saw the small thing inside her. The doctor pointed out the small beating heart and outlined its body. Fang seemed happy as she smiled brightly to the thought of motherhood. The doctor turned off the screen and removed the scanner piece from her stomach. I handed Fang a rag and she cleaned off the gel.

"Thank you." Fang said to the doctor as she left through the front door. I sat next to her as she fixed her sari and stood. She went to a small drawer and removed from it a pen and a piece of paper. Then she sat at the dinning table and began writing a letter to Kurt.

"What are you going to tell him?" I asked sitting down across from her. She never looked up at me but replied with a slight happy tone in her voice.

"About the baby," She said. I rested my chin down on my forearms and watched her write. She was; she was really pregnant with a baby. Kurt would be overjoyed to find out but the baby was so small. She was maybe only a few weeks into the pregnancy. She was so happy to think she was going to be a mother for the first time and here I was sitting across from the woman who asked me to be the baby's aunt.

"He'll be so happy when he reads that letter." I said as she finished the letter and grabbed an envelope from the counter drawer. She sealed the envelope and walked out the door to find the young mail boy. She called him over and handed him the letter with Kurt's name on the front. She looked up to the sky and sighed…

Chapter four: Red envelope and funeral

Fang's P.O.V~

I waited for only a week before I received a return letter from Kurt. I gave the mail boy his usually tip and walked over to the table and ripped open the envelope. When I pulled out the letter a diamond ring fell from the folded piece of paper. I picked it up and examined it in the sunlight coming from the window. It was a beautiful ring with diamonds lining the banding. The gold sparkled and the diamonds shimmered in the sunlight.

I put the ring down and opened the letter reading the hand written text. It read:

_Fang,_

_From the letter you sent me about our child has given me great joy and for that I sent you my mother's old engagement ring hoping you would accept that I ask for your hand. If you decide to respond then please write back with your reply. I await you reply my love._

Kurt's letters usually sent chills down my spine as I put my hand to my stomach. I felt a small head lean over and lay against my palm.

"Your father is the greatest man I know, little one." I said gently rubbing my stomach where the head of my child was resting. At that moment Vanille walked in munching on a yellow apple. She walked over to the table as I slipped the ring on my left ring finger.

"Where'd you get that?" she asked. I smiled and slid the letter over to her. She picked it up and quickly read it then set it down and smiled. She slid her chair out and sat down then took another bite of her apple and swallowed before speaking.

"I can't wait till Talon's born." She said tossing her apple away in to the trash. She leaned forward and took my hand with the ring on my finger and examined it. She turned my hand over and back to see the band was covered with sparkling diamonds.

"And why can't you wait till Talon's born?" I asked. She released my hand and looked up at my face.

"Because I wanted to see the mini-Fang!" she joked pointing at my stomach. She got up and walked to the seat beside me and sat down turned toward me. "If she looks like you then I can really say she's a mini-Fang." I stood and nodded. She placed her ear to my stomach and closed her eyes to hear the baby within me. When she moved away I felt tired and decided to go to sleep but I wanted to write Kurt a letter first. I walked over to a drawer and removed a single sheet of paper and my favorite pen.

I sat down and wrote only four words on the paper: _I will marry you._ I knew in every way those words would make his heart skyrocket into the heavens. I was carrying his child and now when he got the letter back he'd see we are engaged. I felt overjoyed to have been asked for my hand in marriage. I didn't know him long but there was something about him that made me shiver at the thought of him. When he returns I knew he'd be a great father to our child and a great husband too.

I yawned and put the letter in a new envelope then handed it to Vanille and asked her to catch the mail boy to get that sent out to Kurt pronto. She playfully saluted and ran out the door after the boy heading for the alleyway that was his shortcut. I went to the back room and sat on my bed staring at the ring sitting on my finger. I truly loved Kurt and now our love had made this child that lay growing inside me. I laid back on my pillow and pulled the covers up to my chest and closed my eyes drifting back into my usual slumber…

Vanille's P.O.V~

I chased after the mail boy and soon caught up with him. He took the letter and said as soon as he got back to the mail station he'd have it sent out at once. I thanked him and left to go visit Lighting at her apartment. She lived closer to the market place and she had a job as a Guardian Corps trainer. It was her job to teach the rookies how to fight, block and dodge attacks and be quick and graceful on their feet. Recently I heard she had a boyfriend who was a general in the Corps. His name matched perfectly with hers. Lighting was dating a guy that was actually named Thunder at birth. He was a veteran fighter with one scar over his right eye to prove it.

Over his right eyes was a jagged lighting bolt shaped scar that had been given to him by a Behemoth king. From that blow his lost sight in his right eye but to this day his is still a great fighter. He was about her age; about twenty-two. From the one time I saw him he had Dark brown hair and his left eye was blue. He was a rather nice guy and he was great with kids. I found that to be a very good quality because if he fathers Lighting's children he's going to have to be a good father.

I came to her door and knocked my usual four times. I heard the knob turn and the door cracked open and I could see Lighting's face looking at me. She smiled and opened the door allowing me to come in. her place was rather nice with nicely painted walls and cleaned windows with blinds opened to let in the sunlight. The smell of brewed coffee filled the air as her coffee pot was half filled with the black liquid. She walked over to her counter and grabbed her cup that was filled with her rightful amount of coffee.

"What brings you here, Vanille?" she asked, taking a sip of her hot drink. She set it back on the counter and tossed the newspaper onto the coffee table. I was busy admiring a small crystal horse statue she had on a shelf when she asked. I looked up and shrugged.

"Fang's been sleeping a lot and Hope's busy so I wanted to come visit." I said. I went back to looking at the statue. She walked over and stood beside me.

"That statue was given to me by Serah for my birthday last year. She said it is made of crystals they found in this cavern called 'Twilight Cove'. The place is filled with crystals of all shapes and sizes." I looked up at her then back to the statue.

"Those crystals are said to bring good fortune and peace to those who have them." I said. It was an old Obera legend that many believed to be true. Everyone who had one of those crystals was given good fortune and peace for as long as they held them. I had gotten one before my parents died but it didn't bring me peace when they were killed. Yet on the day I had to earn my own pelt that I now wear I kept in tied to my waist.

When I met that bear I was almost scared stiff but I knew if I stood there I'd be his next meal…

_There he stood; six to seven feet tall. He easily towered over me with his great huge body and weight. His large paws donned long three to four inch claws and his teeth were about three inches themselves. All I had to defend myself against such a beast was my binding rod and a dagger I was going to use for skinning the beast I beat to make my own hunter's pelt._

_Fang already had hers and it was now my turn to get a pelt and prove I was a hunter too. The bear landed on to all fours and walked toward me slowly as if stalking me. I held my binding rod tightly in both hands as the palms began to sweat in fear. My heart was beating so fast and hard I thought it would burst from my chest and run away like I wanted to. The bear came within four feet of me and raised his right paw up ready to give me a killer blow. _

_As his paw came down I jumped to the side, dodging his claws by a single inch. He roared and charged at me but I used the binding rod to pull myself up out of reach. The bear roared and growled as he hit the tree head first. He shook it off and looked up at me on the second branch. He stood on his hind legs and swatted at the branch cutting me down from the tree. I fell on my back as he tried to stomp me but I rolled away just in time._

_I got to my feet but noticed my rod was still in the tree behind him. All I had left was the dagger but what could that do? I didn't have time to go after my binding rod and he was closing in on me. He reared up and roared just as I pulled out my dagger. The bear came down at me with his mouth open wide. I thrusted the dagger forward and it connected through his mouth into his skull. The blood from his fatal wound I gave him, none of the blood was mine. He died before he could get a bite of me. I removed the dagger and rolled his heavy body to the side. It hit the ground with a loud thud._

_I had done it; I was now a hunter who took down a bear all by myself. Fang was back at the village and here I was standing beside a huge dead bear with his blood running down my arm. I now had a pelt to prove my hunt…_

That crystal; I believed that day it gave me good fortune while fighting such a beast. I looked up at Lighting who was renewing her cup of coffee and sitting on her sofa. She motioned for me to sit down and I did. She had a nice coffee table too. It was cherry wood with a nice glossy finish and gold trimming around the legs of the table.

"So how's Fang?" she asked setting her cup on the table.

"She's okay; okay as she can be for being pregnant." Lighting didn't know about Fang pregnant as her eyes widened.

"She's pregnant? By who?" she asked leaning forward and resting her elbows on her legs. She curled her fingers together in an 'I'm interested' gesture. I told her everything from the time we got back her till when Kurt asked Fang to marry him through letters. She sat back and crossed her right leg over her left then folded her hands in her lap.

"Kurt is a nice guy. In fact, no one thought he'd ever find a woman around here. He is one of the best and noblest fighters the Corps ever had." She looked at the clock then back to me. "Sorry, Vanille but I have to get going to help more of the new rookies train."

"No it's okay; I wanted to get back to check on Fang." I said standing and leaving out the door. I waved her good bye and left. It was after sundown now that the sun had drifting beyond the horizon. I walked back home to find Fang standing outside looking up at the stars. Her eyes looked to be begging for something; more like someone. She was thinking of Kurt again. In some way I felt that on the other end of those stars was Kurt staring back. I've never seen Fang look almost so…disparate. Her eyes seemed to be searching the sky for him hoping his eyes were staring back into her own.

"Fang…" I said slowly walking up the stairs. She turned and silently laughed. I noticed in the moon light that her face was dampened on her cheeks. She was crying; crying because she missed Kurt so much. He'd been gone for almost two months from her. They longed to be together but that mission in was on was keeping them apart. I walked closer to her and wiped her face of the tears. When I stepped back she put her head down and her body shook as if she was crying again.

"I-I'm sorry, Vanille. I didn't want to be like this." I stepped forward and took her into a friendly hug her arms dangled on either side of me and her face was hidden in my shoulder. Her tears were running down my shoulder as I kept whispering to her over and over.

"Don't be sorry, it's not your fault." It took a while but I soon calmed her down enough to where she was able to talk without crying again. She stepped away from me and over to the railings. She gripped the bars until her knuckles turned white and I thought she'd bend the bar at any second.

"It's hard for me to be here and not know if Kurt's okay or hurt, while I'm carrying our child." She put her hand to her stomach. "Vanille, thank you." I walked over to the railing and leaned against it, resting on my forearms.

"For what?" she looked at me and touched my shoulder. I looked at her to see her sisterly look gleaming in her green eyes. I'd seen that so many times when we were younger. I considered Fang as my older sister even though I never had any siblings. In the orphanage we only had each other. She helped me from my worst ordeal and I helped her too.

"You've helped me just as much as I've protected you and now you're helping me even more with my pregnancy so far." I smiled and looked up at the moon. It was full tonight and the baby stars danced around it singing the nightly song of peace.

"You better get some sleep missy." I joked pulling Fang inside. We both went to sleep ending yet another day but I had a strange feeling tomorrow wasn't going to be as nice…

Fang's P.O.V~

The next morning started out as a normal day as Vanille went out after breakfast to go see her fiancée Hope and I said home reading or watching TV. I was waiting to see if the mail came in yet so I could see if Kurt had replied yet. I was watching the news when a knock hit the door. I turned off the TV and walked over to the door with this feeling of dread creeping over me. I opened the door and there was the mail boy with his head down. He held out a letter but it was the color red. He ran off as soon as I took it, down the street disappearing into the market place swarming with people.

I closed the door and walked over to the table. The letter was not normal what so ever. Instead of saying my name in said: _To the fiancée of Kurt._ That was what really sent a chill up my spine. I turned it around over and over in my hands before ripping it open and pulling a letter out. I opened the letter and a pair of dog tags. The tags were coated with dried blood on the chains and the tags. I read the tags to see that they were Kurt's.

A tear fell from my eye as I put it down and went for the letter. My hands were shaking and the palms were sweating as I unfolded it. My heart thrashed in my chest and I even felt the baby shift as if to be uneasy. I took a deep breath and red the letter. It read:

_To the fiancée of Kurt,_

_We are sad to inform you that we have lost this proud and brave solider during battle. If T'was not for his heroic deeds the entire platoon would have been killed by the behemoth king. we have enclosed his dog tags with this letter. It was one of the only things left that we found. We are very sorry for the inconvenience._

I clutched the tags in my fist and dropped to my knees crying; screaming for my loss. That Behemoth king stole my fiancée from me as well as the father for my child. I cradled my stomach as my tears fell on to the letter…

Vanille's P.O.V~

I was just about to open the door when I heard Fang scream. I bursted through the door and found her on the ground crying heavily. A letter sat before her stained by her tears. I knelt beside her and put an arm around her while reading the letter. When I finished I covered my mouth with my hand and felt tears swell in my own eyes. Fang just lost her love and the father of her unborn baby.

I hugged her tightly as she continued screaming and crying over her loss. This was the same feeling her mother had gone through and now she had to feel that pain. The sound of thunder clapped over the land of Gran Pulse soon rolling over Oerba with pouring rain and loud thunder that blocked out Fang's mournful screams. Those rains continued until the next day at the funeral…

The clouds were a dark gray with pouring rain pelting the umbrellas covering most of the mourners. Soldiers, friends and even Fang me and Hope were in attendance. A woman sang a low sad song in the Old Oerba tongue saying "Let his Heart and soul rest in heaven." Fang's usual blue sari was replaced with a black one and she wore a veil over her face. I was holding Hope's hand and an umbrella in the other covering me and Fang under it. Hope had an umbrella of his own. Lighting, Snow, Serah, Sazh, Dajh, and Hero had also come to this. They stood behind us with tears in their eyes and also donning black outfits. Young Koda was in his mother's arms fast asleep with his head resting on Serah's chest.

Fang looked very depressed as she stared at the picture of Kurt sitting on a metal stand by a small wooden box that held his katana sword and his tags. Tears streamed down her cheeks and jumped off her jaw on to her sari remaining unabsorbed in the fabric. I looked up at her and saw her eyes were red and puffy even under the veil.

When the woman's song came to an end the general walked up to the podium and sighed trying to hold back tears in front of his men. He looked at Fang and then to the box with his things in it.

"Yesterday we lost one of our finest men. Kurt Yushen was the greatest man we had. He would throw himself in front of bullets, swords and even monsters to save his fellow soldiers or even his loved ones. If it was not for his heroics none of the troops out in that field would have returned. Although we lost a great man, and a soon to be father we can all keep a piece of him here through memory." He paused to wipe his eyes that were swelling with tears. "Forgive me, I do not mean to cry but Kurt saved my life at one time and the thought that he will no longer be with us."

He couldn't speak anymore as his tears relentlessly poured from his eyes. A fellow soldier closed the box with Kurt's belongings in them and set it on a floating flower bed in the river. The box was very light as it gently floated on the bed along with the flowers. Fang walked forward and knelt down by the box. She whispered something and then gave it a gentle push down river toward the ocean.

As it disappeared from sight, Fang remained in her place watching where it vanished. She was completely motionless as she continued kneeling on the river back, rain pelting her head and shoulders. I released Hope's hand and walked over to her. With a gentle touch to her shoulder I removed her from her state and helped her to her feet.

As the crowd slowly walked away with their heads down I led Fang back to our apartment with Hope behind us. Once in our apartment she went to the back and cried herself to sleep. I sat with Hope on the sofa watching the rain wash its way down the glass. Hope took my hand into his and gave me a small kiss.

"Stay by her side, Vanille, she needs you right now." He said. I knew he was right. She protected me for years and now I had to help her through this heart breaking time. She lost Kurt; her fiancée and I knew how she felt. If I lost Hope I'd feel the same way. I looked to the back room and heard her sleeping but she was still crying even as her mind was laid to sleep.

"Hope, I think I know how she feels. If I lost you I'd be just as upset and filled with sorrow." I slid closer to him as he wrapped his arms around me. For Fang's pain I began crying; crying for her loss and seeing what I would be like to lose the man you loved most. My tears soon led to me falling asleep in Hope's arms again but I felt him gently lay me on the sofa and cover me with a blanket…


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter five: Sisterly bond

I woke up the next morning to find a note sitting on the table from Hope. He was saying good night to me because I fell asleep in his arms again. I looked to the back room and saw Fang was not there. I whipped off the sheets and looked around the apartment first before leaving outside. I walked down the metal stairs to the street and went up through the market place buzzing with men and women buying and selling goods while children played around the stands yelling and joking. I walked up to the back which there sat Fang staring into the distance.

I walked over slowly until she broke from her trance and looked at me. Her cheeks were moist from her crying again and her eyes were red and puffy. She looked back at the spot just like yesterday when she set the box a drift toward the ocean. The Oerba song that was sung at the funeral rang in my head over and over saying 'Le von te u vum' which was old Oerba tongue for 'let him be at peace'. Fang was having a hard time letting him rest in peace because her heart yearned for him.

She may have only known him for a short time but even I could see they were meant for one another. Yet seeing Fang in this state was very rare. The last time I saw her this sad was when her mother was on her death bed with Fang holding her hand until her time was up. Her mother's hand fell from her grip onto the bed and Fang cried. That day it rained too. Fang has been through so much and her pain wasn't done haunting her. It took her father then her mother and now her lover and the father of unborn Talon.

"Fang…" I walked over and sat next to her on the tree stump. She refused to face me again as she continued staring into the distance. I put my head against her arm with the tattoo and sang a gentle song that her mother used to sing while working or if she was sad. Fang wiped her tears and looked down at me. I could feel her green eyes looking at me but I didn't look up at her. She lifted my head to face her and asked me to stop singing that. I did as she said and then stood.

"Le von te u vum," I said hoping she remembered our old tongue. She looked up at me and signed.

"Vanille, I can't help it. I loved him…" her eyes swelled with tears again. "He is the father of Talon and now he can't even see her!" I sat back down beside her and brushed a strand of her raven hair from her face.

"Fang, I'm here for you and for your baby. You're not alone anymore." I said quoting her from our journey with the others in Gran Pulse. "And if you keep that up you'll make me cry too." I added still quoting her. She looked at me and put her head down. She hated feeling helpless in front of anyone. She'd been that way since I could remember.

"I'm sorry Vanille. I don't mean to seem so helpless." I stood and put my hands on my hips. Fang gave me a puzzled look as I shook my head in protest.

"No; no; no you are not helpless, Fang! You are just mourning the death of the man you love. We all mourn someone we care about! Don't you ever say that again missy!" I said. Fang finally cracked a smile from under her sadness. That made me smile too. She stood and put her hands on my shoulders.

"I've protected you for so long and now I guess you're protecting me and Talon." She said putting her hand to her swelling belly. I quickly took her hand from my shoulder and tugged her in the direction of the apartment. She gave in and followed me back to the front door until we heard a voice call to us. The mail boy sprinted toward us with a small wrapped object in his hands. He bounded up the stairs to meet us. He held out his hands toward Fang with the wrapped box. She took it and unwrapped it to reveal a small red velvet box. She opened it to reveal the Guardian Corps Purple Heart.

She pulled a note from the lid on the inside of the box. The note stated that because she was his fiancée she was to hold onto his purple heart for his act of bravery. She sighed and shut the box before walking inside and setting it on the shelf near the door. She opened it to display the medal and walked to the table. She sat down as I walked to the fridge and got her out a muffin I bought yesterday before the funeral. It was her favorite: blueberry. I gave it to her saying she needed to eat something for the baby. She ate the muffin as I turned on the TV to watch the news.

They were talking about Kurt. In fear of this making Fang upset again I changed the channel to watch some cartoons. Fang finished the muffin and came to sit on the sofa with me. She crossed her right leg over her left and watched Bugs bunny mess with Elmer. She laughed at every funny moment until she felt tired and actually fell asleep next to me. Her chin rested on her collarbone as her arms were crossed over her chest. I turned off the TV and got the blanket. I gently draped it over her and sat back down to read the novel.

I was half way finished; more like twenty pages away before I'd need a new book. When I finished I was hoping to get a new one from the book keeper down the street. She had a huge selection of great novels and series. I had been in there once with Lighting and Hope when Light wanted to get her nephew a child's book for him. Those shelves were filled to the tops with many books with plain and boring covers to ones with pictures and fancy words displayed on the covers drawing the reader's eye to it.

I personally wanted to read this series called the _Shadow hearts_. The cover had a black dragon's face on it with golden eyes that if you moved the book in the light they shined different colors. I heard the series had three books to it making it a trilogy as Hope said. I was drawn to that book like flies to light. I turned the page as Fang mumbled in her sleep. She was muttering something about Kurt. I thought maybe she was having a dream about him but that changed when she jolted from her sleep.

"Fang, are you okay?" I asked touching her arm. She shivered to my touch and her eyes were filled with pain and sorrow again. She sighed and sat back taking a deep breath. She removed the blanket and wiped her brow of a few sweat beads. I waited for her to reply before backing away.

"I should get some air." She said standing and putting the blanket on the sofa beside me. I stood and grabbed her arm. She looked back at me and gave me a puzzled look.

"I'm going with you in case anything happens." I said. Her eyes narrowed and then she walked toward the door with me close behind her. I wanted to be there in case she fainted or something. She protected me and now it was my turn. That's what sisters do as well as friends. We shared a sisterly bond because of all we went through together. From my parents death to her mother's death, the orphanage, becoming l'cie and sealing Cocoon.

Now it was my turn to protect her and Talon as she had protected me for all those years; the years when I was afraid and only wanted to run from our focus. I felt like this was my new 'focus' but I wasn't branded by a fal'cie and I didn't have to worry about becoming a monster. My 'focus' now was to help Fang anyway I could and protect both her and her unborn child. I know she'd do the same for me too.

Thinking about that focus reminded me of how she promised to protect me no matter what when we first got to the orphanage…

_Her mother just passed away from a bad illness and her cousins are distancing themselves from her. I thought they were family and I thought family stayed together no matter what. They didn't though; they left. Fang was all I had and I was all she had left. We walked into the orphanage suddenly slapped by the bad smell and sight of the poorly taken care of place. The orphanage manager led us to the meal hall as they called it because it was lunch time and she thought we might want to eat._

_I went to get something but Fang; Fang stayed at the table silent. When I came back I sat across from her trying to get her to eat but she was depressed. She had just watched her mother die before her eyes a few hours before and here I was trying to cheer hr up to no avail. I pointed my fork with a piece of chicken on it toward her trying to get her to eat something but she stared at the table motionless._

_I soon gave up on trying to get her to eat and just ate in silence. That was when a girl with purple hair walked over with two other girls following behind her. I tried to seem like I wasn't looking at her while I kept eating. Fang was still staring at the table so she never noticed her approach. The girl spotted me and decided to walk up. She pressed her fists into the table and gave me a sinister smile. _

_I stopped eating and slowly looked up at her. Her smile resembled that of the Cheshire Cat. Her smoky gray eyes looked down at me, examining me closely. I felt a bit nervous and threatened with her there staring at me._

"_Must be new here. What's your name?" she asked still smiling. I put my fork down and replied._

"_Oerba Dia Vanille," she narrowed her eyes but continued smiling. At that moment I felt someone behind me and noticed one of her followers was gone. Twos hands grabbed hold of my pigtails and yank. _

"_She's puts her hair into pigtails like a five year old!" said the girl behind me. Fang remained unmoved as the leader grabbed my face with her hand of long nails. _

"_Here's the thing, I am the top dog around here. When you see me step aside, move out of my way in the meal line and when I tell you something you listen, got it?"_

"_Let her go…" the leader looked over at Fang who was standing up away from the table. The leader let go of my face and walked around the table._

"_You say something, mess head?" she mocked Fang's wild hair. Fang never looked up at her she only replied. _

"_Pick on someone your own size!" the leader became angry and lunged at Fang. Fang dodged her and grabbed hold of her wrist flinging her aside with ease. She charged at Fang again only to be met with a hard kick to the stomach. She dropped to her knees clutching her stomach. Now her minions wanted to get involved._

_They ran at Fang but she grabbed both their wrists and tossed them into the tall trashcans by the wall. The leader recovered and ran at Fang from behind. Fang spun grabbing her wrist and pinned her to the ground sitting on her back pinning her arm to the middle of her back. She tried getting free but Fang had her pinned with her full body weight._

"_Let me tell you something: You touch my friend again and this will be worse." She released the leader who got up and dusted herself off as her followers crawled their way out of the trashcans. They never tried to attack Fang or me after that because they knew it would end the same way; defeat._

But right now Fang wasn't like that. She couldn't protect me anymore meaning I had to defend myself and help her any way I could. We walked through the market place to the New Oerba Central Plaza. It was a place mostly used for weddings, and concerts from local bands. There was no special event going on so it was almost empty with a small crown of five to seen kids playing with a dog.

The dog run around after the kid with the chew toy in his or her hand until he caught it and tugged it away. The canine walked away triumphantly until another child grabbed the toy to play tug-of-war with him. Fang kept walking as if to be in some sort of trance as she walked through an alleyway to the other side by the bookstore. She stopped and actually looked inside as if to be interested. Never had I seen Fang interested in books before but she wasn't getting them for herself. She scanned over the outdoor children's books until she found a few she liked.

She must be buying them for the baby when the child would come of age to start learning how to read and write. Fang bought about five or six books and handed them to me before disappearing into the store and reemerging with the three book series I wanted. She put them on top of the other books and gave me a smile.

"Those are for you." And she walked on. We walked along the bridge that connected the south part of the city to the northeastern areas. This was where Hope lived in his small one bedroom apartment. She stopped at a bench and sat down, her face expressing that she was tired. I sat beside her and set the books beside me.

"You alright?" I asked. She looked over at me and nodded slowly. "Okay but if you don't just tell me." she patted my head and stood. I looked at her stomach which I could see was about a half inch further out than her usually slim figure. Fang had always been slim because of relentless training and fighting Pulsian beast out in the plains when we were young. Although I was more a burden rather than help she never gave up on me out there.

_We camped out there together, taking turns watching as the other one slept. The fire was kept lit to ward off any pesky beasts and insects. I was sleeping while Fang sat up watching the golden flames whip around crackling. At one point I couldn't sleep so I looked up at her to see the light of the fire made her lightly tanned face glow a bright golden brown. Her green eyes were narrowed as she tired from watching the flames dance about._

"_You better try to get some more sleep, Vanille" she said without looking at me. She usually knew when I was awake and she never even had to lay eyes on me to know. I sat up and slid over to sit beside her watching the fire._

"_Fang you look like you're getting tired. Maybe you should get some sleep, I'll keep watch." She turned her head toward me and frowned._

"_No offence Vanille but you can barely fight a baby boar let alone a huge monster." I puffed my cheeks and crossed my arms to my chest. Fang reached over with one hand and grabbed my face, squeezing my cheeks making a raspberry sound escape my lips. We laughed that night until we somehow both fell asleep back to back for warmth other than the fire…_

"Come on Vanille we should get back." She said. I grabbed the books as she led the way back to our small apartment. As we walked up we found Lighting standing there by the door. We walked up and invited her inside our place as I set down the books on the table. Fang went into the fridge and got out a small pint of her favorite ice cream, Cookies & cream. In fact on the way back she said she was craving it due to the baby. She closed the fridge and turned to Lighting who was looking at the Purple Heart on the shelf.

"You got that because of Kurt?" she asked walking over. Fang grabbed a spoon and opened the container.

"Yeah that is the only thing I will have left of him. This was the same thing that happened to my mother." Lighting raised an eye brow as Fang and her walked to sit on the sofa. I was already beginning to read my new book but I was listening in on them at the same time.

"What do you mean your mother went through the same thing?" she asked as Fang ate a spoonful of ice cream. She looked up and stuck the spoon in the ice cream then set it on the table before her.

"Before I was born my father died but his was of illness; the same illness that took my mother when I was ten; when Vanille was eight. After Vanille's parents were killed my mother took her in and she lived with us but I grew up without a father and now my child has to go through the same damn thing." She took a deep breath and sighed. "After my mother died, we were sent to the orphanage where grew closer as friends."

Lighting was absorbing the story and when Fang finished she touched her shoulder. She was practically speechless as she thought about how Fang felt through everything she'd been through.

"Fang, you'll be a good mother, I'm sure of that and sure it'll be harder being a single mother but if any woman can do it, it's you." Fang's eyes down casted to her hand sitting on her lap. She was still wearing the engagement ring Kurt sent, refusing to take it off. She twisted it around her finger back and forth then replied with her head down.

"I may not be married to him physically but I am spiritually." She whispered. Lighting smiled and pointed to the stack of children's books on the table.

"What are they for?" Fang looked over at them and told her they were for the baby. Lighting stood and walked over to the books reading their covers. Some had small sheep jumping over and fence and others had baby animals that would teach the child new words.

"How far are you in?" Fang raised an eyebrow. "How far are you into your pregnancy?" Fang counted on her fingers then shrugged. Lighting turned around and set the book in her hand down on the stack.

"You have to find out. If you don't you won't be ready for the baby to arrive." Fang resumed eating her ice cream that was now half melted but she tipped the cup drinking the melted part of the ice cream before she ate the solid. When she finished she set the empty container on the table.

"Is everyone more concerned about me and the baby more than anything?" she asked standing up. She picked up her empty container and walked to the sink to place the spoon in and then walked over to the trashcan to throw it out. Lighting crossed her arms and shook her head.

"What you wanna wake up one day and then unexpectedly go into labor?" she asked. Fang put her hands on her hips and walked over in her 'don't get into my business stride'.

"Sorry if I seem a bit slow into this motherhood but I do care about my child but does it look like I'm going to take advice from someone who isn't a mother?" oh no, she was getting one of those hormonal imbalances that make her have mood swings. Lighting narrowed her eyes and snapped back.

"I may not be a mother but I damn well am an aunt!" she uncrossed her arms. "If you excuse me I'll be leaving. I know when my advice isn't wanted!" she brushed pass Fang and left out the door. Fang walked into the back and I ran after Lighting. I caught her just before she got al the way down the stairs.

"Please don't be mad at Fang, Light. She's was having a mood swing." Lighting's eyes went soft as she laughed. I felt she would understand since Serah went through it too. Serah probably bit off a few heads when she had a mood swing.

"I know; I know so don't worry. Fang is going to experience that and a few more side effects but still I have to get going." I bid her farewell as she walked into the market place toward the Guardian Corps building. I walked back up stairs and opened the door to find Fang standing by Kurt's Purple Heart. Next to it was his picture given to her by the general at the funeral. It was a nice size picture; about 9x11 inches.

I noticed tears running down her cheek as I stepped closer to her. She was covering her mouth, not allowing her sobs to be heard. She never removed her eyes from the picture when she spoke through her sobs.

"Great now I'm taking it out on others…what is wrong with me?" I leaned my head on her arm that once donned her L'cie mark that had become frozen and scorched upon our reawakening. I hated seeing Fang like this, helpless and near a breaking point.

"Fang it's the hormonal imbalance not you. It causes you to get mood swings; it's not your fault." She turned and looked down at me; her piercing green eyes were turning red. Suddenly her eyes widened and she ran towards the bathroom and all I heard was her throwing up; it was morning sickness.

Fang sat there for about five minutes throwing up into the toilet until it finally subsided. The whole time I held her hair back for her as her sickness made her stomach contract and shoot up the vile vomit. When it subsided she sat back and grabbed a cloth then wiped her mouth and sighed.

"Please tell me there is a way to calm this queasiness." She said trying not to swallow in fear she would throw up again. I thought for a moment and then ran to the cabinet and grabbed a stack of saltine crackers. I went back to the bathroom and found her sitting on the floor in the doorway. As I came up she opened her eyes and saw the crackers in my hand.

"You think that will help?" she asked pointing at the package. I knelt down and handed it to her.

"I heard from Serah, that it helps to calm the stomach and works well with a cup of tea." I stood and took Fang's arm, helping her to her feet then over to the table. I made a pot of wild tea as she opened the crackers and ate a few before putting her head down; she had a headache. I poured her a cup and made it to her liking of one lemon and a teaspoon of sugar.

I set it down before her and she looked up with tired eyes. She sat up and took the cup with both hands allowing the warmth to engulf her as she took a sip. I remembered that wild tea was usually used for curing headaches, stomachaches, and relax the body. She set it down and rubbed her temples relieving the pain from her head.

"This," she said as I sat down across from her. "Is going to the longest pregnancy…" boy was she wrong! The next eight to nine months went by so fast aside from her having morning sickness; which seemed to actually last all day and her often eating and sleeping, but that day that Talon begged for freedom from her mother's womb was the day Fang went through the 'painful miracle'…

Chapter six:

Fang was asleep in the back while I was out on the sofa reading the second book of the trilogy she bought me. Her due date was fast approaching and this morning I felt a weird feeling that something was going to happen to day.

"V-Vanille!" I looked up and saw Fang leaning against the doorway in the backroom, holding her stomach. She was sweating and her voice seemed weak. "Get the doctor!" my eyes widened but I didn't waste time. I bounded out the door and down the stairs, leaping over the last four and toward the doctor's house across the way. I knocked on the door until it opened to reveal the man's daughter.

"My friend's gone into labor!" I explained with a bit of panic entering my voice. The woman called to her mother who was a midwife and followed me to the apartment. I rant to the back room and found Fang lying on the bed, her face bright red. She was leaning against the headboard clutching her teeth together trying not to scream, but the pain proved too much for she let out a high pitch scream.

I sat beside her and pushed back her bangs wishing I could do something but I felt so helpless. The doctor quickly put on a pair of gloves she brought over as her mother got ready. Fang was crying; the pain was so much for her. When I touched her arm I could feel the muscle becoming so tense that it twitched. The veins in her neck were swelling from the pain as she held her stomach.

When she was fully dilated the rightful ten centimeters her pain skyrocketed. She was holding my hand but in some way I felt that was a bad idea; she was squeezing the life out of it. Her other hand clutched the sheets tightly in her fist. Sweat matted her hair to her forehead and temples. Seconds felt like hours as the baby slowly escaped the womb.

But soon enough Fang's screams of pain were replaced with the crying of a newborn baby girl. Fang's head slumped to the side but she was just sleeping as the doctor said. Her breathing was heavy as she fought to catch her breath from such an ordeal. The doctor and her mother cleaned the baby and wrapped her in a warm blanket before handing her to me since I was her aunt.

They helped by cleaning up before they left, leaving me with baby Talon in my arms. She fell asleep and she looked just like her mother. Seriously, she looked just like Fang. She had the same beauty mark by her right eye, the same raven hair, and she looked like her when she slept. Holding Talon in my arms I felt like this would be a new path for Fang. Sure she'd still miss, Kurt but then again she's have Talon who was actually half of him as well as her.

I looked down at Talon whose mouth twitched into a smile three times. I smiled down at her when I suddenly felt a hand brush my back. I turned to see Fang's weak eyes staring up at me. I stood and turned to her as she pulled herself to sit up against the headboard again. As she lifted her weight I could see her arms shaking from being tired. When she was sitting up right I slowly and gently handed her daughter to her.

As soon as Talon felt her mother's touch she nuzzled against her chest and her small hand took hold of her mother's sari. When I looked at Fang's face I saw the sight of a mother sparkle in her eyes as she looked down at the very child she carried for forty weeks; the very child fathered by Kurt. Fang was so caring but strong and in a way I knew that Talon had the best mother a child could want.

"Vanille look," I looked down at Talon to see that she had opened her eyes but they weren't just one color. Her left eye was brown and her right eye was green; one of her father's and the other was Fang's. Everything about her was Fang except the fact that her eyes were two different colors. Talon looked around; her eyes looking up at her mother than at me and back.

"Now that is unique." I said sitting down on the edge of the bed. Fang smiled and silently laughed. Talon reached up and grabbed hold of one of her mother's necklaces and tugged. Her mother gently took her hand off of the necklace by allowing her to grab her index finger.

"I like unique and she has a tight grip." Fang said weakly. Talon tugged on her finger and smiled widely up at Fang. I touched her shoulder as a knock hit the door. "You'll be a great mom, Fang." I whispered before I got up to answer the door. The knock hit the door again just as my hand touched the knob. When I opened it there stood Lighting. She had a small kitten in her arms. I raised an eyebrow as she entered wondering why she had a kitten with her. She looked around and then turned to me.

"Where's Fang?" I motioned for her to follow me as I led her to the back room. When Lighting entered her eyes softened at the sight of the newborn. Fang looked up and asked her why she had a cat with her.

"My cat had kittens and I needed to get rid of the last one. I was wondering if you two would like to have it." At that moment we heard Talon actually say a word: "C-Cat." Fang looked down at her daughter with astonishment slapped on her face. My jaw nearly dropped and Lighting's eyes widened.

"I think she wants it." I said jokingly as Fang looked up and nodded in agreement. I took the kitten from Light and set it on the bed beside Fang. The small orange and white kitten mewed as he climbed up Fang's leg and then up her stomach toward the baby. The kitten placed it's front paws on Fang's arm and looked at Talon, bobbing it's head as if the kitten was studying her.

When it finished it's examination of Talon the kitten jumped down and settled by Fang's side soon falling asleep and purring gently. Lighting was looking at Talon's eyes noticing they were two colors.

"That's a rare sight. It's not often you see a person with two colored eyes. So what's her name?" she asked standing straight. I picked up the kitten without waking it up and held it against my chest.

"Fang named her Talon." I replied as the kitten's tail tickled my arm. Lighting smiled then gave the kitten a head scratch.

"That makes sense. Mommy Fang called her baby Talon." She teased. Fang only laughed before she began growing tired. Luckily Hope helped me get a nice crib for Talon before she was born. I put the kitten down and took Talon who was now falling asleep and gently laid her in the crib with her first toy which just happened to be a small cat.

The kitten jumped off the bed and rubbed against my leg and mewed up at the crib. I looked back at Fang who nodded as I picked the kitten up and set it in the crib beside Talon. The kitten curled up and fell asleep beside Talon. Something told me that they were going to be good friends. Lighting said she had to leave and Fang was fast asleep herself and I was growing tired too. I laid in the bed across from Fang and fell asleep as well…


End file.
